With the vaccine jointly developed by AstraZeneca and the University of Oxford providing minimal protection against the mutant variant of COVID-19 dominant in South Africa, the country has asked the Serum Institute of India (SII) to take back one million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine supplied by it. Earlier this week, South Africa also said...

The Union health ministry on Thursday revealed that one-fifth of the total districts in the country have not reported any fresh case of COVID-19 in the past seven days. The ministry said that 146 of the 718 districts in the country have not reported any fresh case of infection for a week, whereas there are...

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and MPs and MLAs above 50 years are likely to be vaccinated in the second phase of India’s vaccination drive against COVID-19. The vaccination campaign was launched on January 16 and healthcare workers and all frontline workers are going to be vaccinated under phase 1 of the drive. According to the...

Pfizer and BioNTech will have to conduct local clinical trials for securing emergency use authorisation for its COVID-19 vaccine, the government has said. The head of the government task force on COVID-19 vaccine, Dr. VK Paul, said that local clinical trials are a pre-condition for seeking emergency use authorisation. Notably, Pfizer and BioNTech have applied...

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will launch the countrywide COVID-19 vaccination programme that is all set to begin on Saturday. Around 3 lakh healthcare workers are likely to receive the shot on day 1 of the vaccination drive. The vaccination campaign will start from 3,000 sites across the country on Saturday and 100 people will be...

The Centre has asked the states and Union Territories to get ready to receive the first consignments of the COVID-19 vaccine. The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, in a communique to the states, said that the vaccine will be supplied to the identified consignee points of 19 states and Union Territories by the supplier....

Serum Institute of India (SII) chief Adar Poonawalla has said that the ‘Covishield’ vaccine that has been approved by the Indian drug regulator for restricted emergency use will be available at Rs 1,000 per shot in the retail market, if the government gives a nod for its private sale. Poonawalla said SII is selling the...

An expert panel of the Indian regulator has given its nod for the COVID-19 vaccine jointly developed by AstraZeneca and the University of Oxford. The recommendation will be sent to the Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) that will take a final call on the subject. Notably, Pune-based Serum Institute of India is manufacturing the...

At a time when the majority of the countries in the world are yet to approve a vaccine for COVID-19, the World Health Organisation (WHO) has given its nod to the jab developed by Pfizer and BioNTech. The development essentially means that low-income countries may soon get access to the ‘costly’ vaccine that is already...

A committee of the Indian regulator that is scrutinising the emergency use applications of COVID-19 vaccine manufacturers will reassemble on January 1 for deliberations on the issue. The committee had earlier met on Wednesday to consider the applications made by Serum Institute of India for the AstraZeneca and Oxford University vaccine, and another vaccine of...

Union health minister Harsh Vardhan has said that India is likely to begin vaccination for COVID-19 in January. The minister clarified that the country is not behind any other country as far as vaccines for COVID-19 are concerned. He, however, added that ensuring safety and efficacy of vaccines before approval is the primary concern of...

In a major cause of concern over the safety and efficacy of the COVID-19 vaccine that has been granted emergency use authorisation by the authorities, an Alaskan healthcare worker who was administered Pfizer and BioNTech’s COVID-19 vaccine suffered a serious allergic reaction. The affected person is stable now after availing treatment for the allergic reaction....